"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.” ― Groucho Marx
Zoonoses (human infections of animal origin) have become increasingly important in recent decades. Viral infections in this category include HIV, Ebola, and the Coronavirus diseases MERS, SARS, and most recently COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. This is not an accident: it results from the relentless tendency of humans to plunder ecosystems without regard for the consequences.
President Donald Trump has made a number of references in the past, and made a few more in his recent 4th July Address to the Nation, to the fact that SARS-CoV-2 originated in China. He always makes these remarks in a way that suggests (a) that China deliberately, or by negligence inflicted the virus on the World; and (b) that such a thing would never happen in the United States of America.
A lot of the strange conspiracy theories connected with COVID involve 5G mobile networks. These ideas have sprung up all over the World, even in countries like Bolivia, which doesn’t have 5G technology!
“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory.
The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control.
The world is rudderless.”
# Permanent link to The main thing I learned about conspiracy theory…
I previously made the point that social media platforms can provide an invaluable means of spreading useful public health information about the coronavirus crisis. Unfortunately, the pandemic has also generated a variety of bizarre beliefs, and these have spread throughout the World, largely through social media. Social media services have also allowed individuals to denigrate effective measures, such as social distancing, and to promote totally ineffective coronavirus “cures”.
I used to be a great sleeper. As a child, I remember there once was a severe storm that caused a lot of structural damage, including blowing down several chimneys in Glasgow tenements. I slept right through it! None of the stresses and strains of my professional life ever led me to lose much sleep, although, to be fair, until I went part-time in my last 2 years of work, I think exhaustion was a great help in leading me to the Land of Nod!
Covert hairdressing in the Time of COVID One of the most irritating things about Coronavirus Lockdown is not being able to get a haircut. I have a strong family history of baldness, and as I have got older my hair has become pretty thin on top. However, the same can’t be said for the back…
My Experience of Social Media I have been a fan of social media every since it came into existence. My first foray into the field was as a member of the photo sharing website Flickr. Flickr was launched in 2004 by Ludicorp, a Vancouver-based company founded by Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake. I joined Flickr…
“Capitalism will always be racist and sexist, because it has to mystify its core contradiction - the promise of prosperity vs the reality of widespread poverty - by denigrating the 'nature' of those it exploits: colonial subjects, women and the dispossessed."
# Permanent link to Capitalism will always be sexist and racist…
Effects of the novel Coronavirus on multiple systems Based on the experience of SARS, COVID was expected by most people to be a respiratory illness. However, it quickly became apparent that, as well as spreading much more readily than the SARS virus, SARS-CoV-2 was producing a much more complicated illness that affected multiple bodily systems.…
